GM 2: Benjamin Buller 2, 402138

Having said everything we can about Benjamin Buller 1, this post moves to the next generation, to his son Benjamin Buller 2.

This Benjamin Buller has a GRANDMA entry, although the entry needs some work. As remarkable of a resource as GM is, it is only as good as the information supplied to it, and one goal of this series is to collect for each family member all the accurate information that we can, so that GM may update its entries if it so chooses. So, can you spot the obvious error in GM’s Benjamin 2 entry?

Sources: The key sources of information about Benjamin 2 include the following (some titles abbreviated):

1. Register of Mennonites in Rovno Region, Volhynia, 1819–1820


2. List of Mennonites Wishing to Leave Volhynia, 1833


3. Mennonites Who Transferred from Volhynia to Waldheim and Assigned Land in 1839


4. List of Mennonitesin Waldheim Who Planted Potatoes and Flax in Spring 1839


5. List of Mennonites Moving from Waldheim back to Volhynia


6. The 1850 Census of Heinrichsdorf, Volhynia


7. Heinrichsdorf church book

Birth: Our information agrees with GM that Benjamin 2 was born in 1789. The clearest evidence for this birth year is the Heinrichsdorf church book (link 7 above; p. 60 available here), which does not give a month or date of birth for Benjamin 2 but does list the year 1789 (see also here).

Two additional pieces of evidence support the church book date. (1) Benjamin 2 is listed on the Register of Mennonites in Rovno Region, Volhynia, 1819–1820 (link 1), and there his age is listed as thirty-one. If, as I suspect, the census was taken in 1820, then his year of birth could be calculated as 1789. (2) Benjamin 2 also appears on the 1850 Heinrichsdorf census (link 6), where his age as given as sixty-one, which again points to a birth year of 1789. With three independent pieces of evidence all agreeing, we can consider Benjamin 2’s year of birth certain.

Family, Spouse: GM knows as much as we do, that Benjamin’s wife was named Helena; her maiden name remains a mystery. Our sources for Helena’s name are the same as for Benjamin’s year of birth. The Heinrichsdorf church book (p. 61 here) states that Benjamin’s wife was named Helena but does not record a maiden name (unlike many other entries in the book). Likewise, the 1820 Rovno census lists her name as Helena (Elena; see here for a scan of the original), as does the 1850 Heinrichsdorf census. There is no doubt as to the name of Benjamin’s wife, although her exact identity is unknown.

Family, Children: Finally we reach the obvious error. GM knows of only one child; we are aware of at least four. Given the year of birth listed, it appears that GM has the correct Heinrich identified, but sons Benjamin 3, David, and Peter should also be listed. In fact, the listings should be:

1. Buller, Benjamin, about 1816
2. Buller David, 25 January 1818, GM 11303
3. Buller, Heinrich, 11 September 1823, GM 402140
4. Buller, Peter, 23 September 1832, GM 402150

It is tempting to add at least one daughter to the children, since we are told that David Buller had a sister who married into the Johann Ratzlaff family (see here). In addition, the 1833 document linked below implies strongly that Benjamin and Helena had multiple daughters, perhaps as many as five. Still, until we are able to identify these daughters, we should not add any information to Benjamin’s list of children.

Father and mother: We know that Benjamin 2’s father was also named Benjamin. If the latter is added to GM, then Benjamin should be linked to him. We have no information on Benjamin 2’s mother.

Notes: GM obviously cannot list every bit of information known about a person, but we can, and we will as often as is practical. We will also link to original sources so that those who wish can check the evidence for themselves.

1. Benjamin 2 presumably was born and lived in Poland/Prussia for his first twenty-eight years; the 1820 Rovno register (link 1 above) states that in 1817 Benjamin and family emigrated from Prussia to the village of Zofyovka in the Rovno region of Volhynia. In 1820 the family included Benjamin, his wife Helena, their two oldest sons Benjamin and David, and a nephew also named David.

2. According to the list of Mennonites who wished to move to Molotschna colony (link 2), by 1833 Benjamin and family were in Ostrowka, a Volhynian village of uncertain location. The family included five males and six females. The five males were Benjamin 2, Benjamin 3, David, Heinrich, and Peter (i.e., father and four sons). The six females included Helena and five daughters and/or other female relatives. The presence of this many females almost certainly indicates that Benjamin 2 and Helena had multiple daughters.

3. Benjamin and family arrived in the Molotschna village of Waldheim in time to qualify him for the 1839 land allotment (link 3). As a result, Benjamin 2 was one of only forty landowners in the village. Benjamin planted potatoes and flax in the spring of 1839 (link 4); he may have planted field crops the same year, but we have no record of him doing so.

4. Benjamin was part of a group who decided to leave Waldheim and return to Volhynia (link 5). The 1845 document recording this decision indicates that the part of the family returning included five males (Benjamin 2, David, David’s son Peter, Heinrich, and Peter) and five females (Helena, David’s wife Helena and their daughters Helena and Elisabeth, and Heinrich’s wife Anna). Son Benjamin 3 and his family remained in Waldheim. The five daughters/female relatives who were with the family in 1833 were presumably married and with their own families or deceased.

5. Benjamin 2 next appears on the 1850 Heinrichsdorf census (link 6), which implies that he was one of the original founders of Heinrichsdorf. The family included all those counted on the 1845 list plus two additional children of Heinrich.

6. Benjamin was still in Heinrichsdrof when the church book was begun in 1858 (link 7). How long he remained there we cannot say, but since there is no record of his death at Heinrichsdorf, it seems likely that he returned to Waldheim with one of his sons in the early 1860s.

***

In sum, the GM entry for Benjamin 2 should list at least four sons. If we are ever able to identify Benjamin’s daughters, they should be added as well. Of all the sources that one could list, the most important are the Heinrichsdorf church book (date of birth) and the 1845 list of Waldheim residents returning to Volhynia and the 1850 Heinrichsdorf census (names of sons).

Next up, Benjamin 2’s wife Helena.